


The Secret Beneath the Ice

by roguelightning



Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-24
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-03-09 01:55:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13471248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roguelightning/pseuds/roguelightning
Summary: After her trip to Vienna has some... unexpected consequences, Helen needs help. After all, if James can't help her with this, nobody can. Eventually Teslen.





	1. Chapter 1

“I’m pregnant.” The words froze James on the spot before he had the chance to turn around. He did, eventually, and Helen couldn’t help herself from watching him with an amused look. The shock still seemed a bit too big for her friend, though, because it had taken him surprisingly long to figure out everything – that she was not his Helen, so the baby wasn’t his, but she wasn’t his Helen, and – fuck.  With a sigh, he went and poured a glass of whiskey, making a move to offer it to her, but he stopped midway, settling on sitting down with the glass himself.

“How did this happen, exactly?”  He asked, taking a careful sip.

“Ah. Well, you know how this works, James. When a man loves a woman very much, they go to bed together, and the man puts his-“

“I know how babies are made, Helen.” James spat out, cutting her off. “I guess what I really want to know is how did this – he said as he pointed to her figure – happen.”

“You were the one who told me to go on a vacation.” Helen smiled sheepishly, but she wasn’t fooling anyone, and she certainly wasn’t fooling him. Maybe he didn’t know this Helen too well, but he could tell she was worried. It made the whole lecturing thing a lot more complicated.

“My idea of a vacation didn’t involve bedding strangers, Helen, let alone getting pregnant. Dear Lord, are all women so promiscuous in the future?”

“One, he’s not a stranger.” Her voice had taken a dangerous edge now. “Two, I love him, and three, some are, but luckily men don’t have their butts so far up their behinds  so it’s not that much of a big deal.”

“Does he even know who you are?”  James asked with a sigh. “I thought you said you mustn’t meddle with the future, and yet here you are, doing such a thing… At least tell me he’s no one of importance.” She paused at that, a look on her face he couldn’t quite decipher- anger at first, then regret, but also with a hint of amusement?

“I am going to marry him one day, James, and we’ll raise this child together.” Helen argued, determination in her voice. “But I need your help for that.”

“You want me to do the same as I did with Ashley.” James said, realization dawning on him. “Freeze the embryo until a later date when you’ll decide to carry it to term.”

“Yes.” She admitted, and James couldn’t help noticing how relieved she was. She really seemed to want the baby, despite all the complications that might have come from that.

“If you really love this man…” James started, a bit unsure. “Perhaps this isn’t the best idea. I hate putting it like that, Helen, but really, he’s what, 30 years old or so? He’s not going to survive you, so perhaps it would be best if you would… you know.”

“Include him in my vacation plans, and the baby as well? Is this what you’re suggesting?”

“If he keeps quiet, then yes. The impact on history shouldn’t be that big if all three of you lay low, so I don’t see why you should rob him of spending time with his child.”

“I’m glad we agree on that.” Helen said with a smile. “That’s exactly why I’m asking you to do this. If I told him I’m pregnant now, it would cause a lot of complications, the type none of us can afford at the moment.”

“So what’s your alternative, Helen?” Her friend sounded exasperated now. “Call him after 20 years and tell him he had slept with you a while ago and he left you pregnant, but no worries because you didn’t have the baby yet?”

“More like 120 years, but yes, that is mostly the plan.”

“Like he’s going to sur- Dear Lord, no. Tell me you didn’t.“

“I did, actually. So many times last month that I lost count, but I’m sure you don’t want the specifics on that.”

“God, Helen, would it really kill you to like someone normal for once?”

“You were the peak of normality for me, actually. And don’t say I have a type.”

“Three out of four, Helen. At least I hope-“

“We’ll leave it at that.” Helen agreed with a smile, cutting him off. “And to answer that question you don’t have the guts to ask… Not Nigel too, no.”

“So you haven’t gone completely mad, good to know. Although I have to say, Tesla…”

“I think I know your opinion on the matter well enough, James.” She said as she closed the distance between them, taking his hand into hers. “This… wasn’t exactly planned, but I do love him. Please, James, help me. I don’t have any other option and we both know that.”

“Not if I don’t want a vampire banging at my door asking for the woman I am with at the moment, no.” James agreed. “I assume you didn’t tell him you’re not from this time.”

“Telling Nikola Tesla that time travel is possible in the year 1927? James, I’m not that mad.”

“Good.” The relief was obvious in his voice. “Alright then. I’ll help you, if you’re really sure you want to share this with him.”

“I’ve never been surer of anything in my life, James. I will marry this man one day.”

“That’s not the first time you said that.” He pointed out, earning himself a glare. “You learn to move on from past disappointments, eventually. You will too, probably.”

“How much time do I have left?”

“I’m sorry?”

“With you, Helen. Well, with the version of you I have now, I mean. I’m guessing we don’t work out in the end.” He didn’t really expect a straightforward answer to that and he didn’t get one.

“You were always my closest friend, James.” She said, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. “Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“I would say you’d better invite me over to your wedding, but I suppose it would be a bit too awkward.” He joked, not missing the sadness on her face. It was there for only a moment, but enough for him to figure what it meant – that was a wedding he won’t be able to attend. She left soon after that, promising to contact him at a further date to schedule the surgery. Come to think at it, it had always been like that. The rest of The Five, always at her beck and call, no matter what insane plan she needed help with. It wasn’t like any of them could refuse, anyway, and he was no different, so if she wanted to give birth to what was probably going to be a vampire baby… he couldn’t do anything but hope at least this time she was going to sprout wings and not fall.


	2. Chapter 2

James had hoped that the meeting with Helen was the only surprise he was going to have that week. Thankfully, he had managed to keep her hidden from his Helen, so despite all odds, it seemed that whatever future Helen had done with Tesla – the thought still crept  him out, by the way – it didn’t have any irreversible effect on the timeline. Or at least that was what he thought so until he heard Tesla banging on Helen’s door.

“Tesla.” James greeted him on a cold tone, taking in his appearance. The vampire had put on what was probably his best suit, together with a cravat that matched his eyes, and if that wasn’t enough indication he had come there to seduce Helen, the single red rose in his hand did the trick.

“Watson.” Nikola acknowledged, his shoulders slumping visibly.

“I assume the rose isn’t for me.” James joked, only earning himself a glare.

“You’re not my type, Jimmy boy, and I’m not yours, so I’m afraid it would never work.”

“Well, Helen is asleep now, so you’ll have to come at another time, I’m sorry.” James lied, not exactly hoping that was going to work. He watched Nikola clench his fist, as if he wanted to punch him at that, but somehow changed his mind. He really hated Helen at that moment, and to think his Helen would one day become someone like that… He didn’t like the thought too much.

“Then wake her up.” Nikola said, after a few moments of pondering. He wasn’t going to give up that easily, and frankly he had no idea if he would have the courage to talk to her anymore the next morning.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” James protested, his tone low so not to wake her. “If I say she’s asleep and she can’t see you, then it means you have to wait.”

“Oh I have news for you regarding who I am.” Nikola threatened. “But I have to talk to her first, and if I have to go through you, well then that’s just bad news for you then.”

“Hello, Nikola.” Helen greeted, interrupting him, and Nikola could feel the way his anger practically dissipated. She was back to her blonde hair, apparently – not something he was very happy with, because her as a brunette… well, that was a sight he wasn’t going to forget anytime soon.

“Hi.” he managed to say with a shy smile, mentally kicking himself. _Focus, Nikola_.  He chided himself, but he supposed he couldn’t be much to blame, not with that silk nightgown she was wearing. He very clearly remembered tearing apart something like that a few weeks before, come to think at it.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Helen asked with a yawn. “I thought you were in the States somewhere.”

“That’s what I came to talk to you about.” he practically pushed James out of the way, closing the distance between him and Helen. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about our… little experiment in Vienna.”

“Vienna?” Helen asked, confused.

“Yes. We met there last month, remember? And I know you told me to wait, and I tried, believe me I tried, but… Well, I’m here, aren’t I?” Nikola shrugged. “This is for you, by the way.” He said, handing her the rose he had brought.

“I wasn’t in Vienna last month, Nikola.” Helen said on a careful tone, her fingers brushing his ever so slightly as she took the rose. The contact made him shiver, the sensation remarkably familiar to the one of being electrocuted.

“Yes, you were.” Nikola insisted. “We both were, and we did a little experiment together.” He figured this was the safest way to put it, at least with James around. He didn’t want to think what the hell the Englishman was doing at that time of night in Helen’s house anyway.

“She’s been here with me in the last three months, Nikola.” James pointed out. “What is this about, anyway?”

“None of your business.” Nikola spat at him, thankfully missing he had been called by his first name. James didn’t normally do that, but now he felt bad for the vampire. Just a little bit, though.

“You really think Helen has been with you in Vienna in the last month?” James asked carefully.

“I don’t _think_ so, Jimmy, I know so. And we have done some things that would make your prude English ears go red, but as I said, none of your business. Listen, can you leave us alone for a moment?”

“I’ve never left England in the last three months, Nikola.” Helen said as she approached him, cupping his chin with her hand. “Did this happen to you before? Imagining things, memory lapses, anything?” She was all business now, and in any other time, he would have liked how worried she seemed to be for him. After Vienna, however, this wasn’t the case anymore. Now he knew all about her feelings for him, so he had more pressing mysteries to decipher.

“Helen, why are you playing like this?” he asked on a hurt tone. “We had something, and you know it damn well, so why- and what is it with you and Jimmy, by the way?”

“We’re together, not that this is any of your business.” James answered for her. Now he felt really sorry for him, but he had a part to play, thanks to Helen, so he didn’t have any much of a choice.

“Honestly?!” Nikola exclaimed with a desperate sigh. “Is this what it’s supposed to be with us? I guess I should be grateful you’re taking turns, at least.” he muttered. “Because I may be willing to die for you, Helen, but sharing you, especially with English people… I’m so not doing that.”

“I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about.” Helen said as she took his hand into hers. “I didn’t mean to upset you, but Vienna… I told you, I never was there with you.” she said on a concerned tone, but he only glared at her at that. He held her hand while he pushed the sleeve of her nightgown up, his touch light as a feather against her skin. James looked like he wanted to protest at that, but he changed his mind. If this was what was needed for him to leave, then so be it.

“Nikola, what are you doing?” Helen asked on a warning tone. She didn’t hate the contact, in fact if she were to be honest with herself there was something enticing in the way his fingers danced across her skin, but she still wanted him to stop. And that was exactly what he did, the moment he uncovered her shoulder.

“There’s no chance those marks would have healed.” he thought out loud.

“What marks?” Helen asked, but this time he was the one who shut her up. “Nevermind.” Nikola said with a sigh. “You’re probably right, I must have imagined everything.”

“I still want to run some tests, just to be sure.” Helen offered, but he smiled sadly at that. “I’d rather you don’t do that, actually. I’ll let you know if it happens again, I promise.” he turned to leave at that and headed to the door, but stopped midway. “Keep the rose, though. The thought remains, if nothing else. Goodnight.” With these words he left, leaving a confused Helen behind.

“What the bloody hell was that?” she asked when she and James were left alone.

“Who the hell knows?” James shrugged. “I would say he got drunk if I didn’t know he couldn’t do that. I don’t think we should worry though, at least not for now.”

“He has memories with me that last over a month, James.” Helen pointed out. “So either he had memories implanted into his mind, or there is someone out there who is posing as me. I don’t like either of these thoughts.”

“Or he’s just being a drama queen and wants to get a reaction from you.” James said, taking her hand into his and dragging her to their bedroom. “Really, darling, I don’t think we should worry about this.” he pleaded and she relented, following him. He didn’t miss the way she had tucked the rose in the book she kept on her nightstand, though. Luckily, he had bigger issues to think at. He was so going to kill Helen for this mess.


	3. Chapter 3

“Do you have _any_ idea what mess you got me into?” James asked as soon Helen entered his laboratory.  He had agreed to help her with extracting the embryo, but he didn’t recall facing a jealous vampire being part of the agreement.

“Oh come on. You did this before, with Ashley, and it worked with her. Really, you have no reasons to worry.” Helen reassured him.

“I didn’t have to worry about the father coming to pound at my door the last time.” Helen raised an eyebrow at that. “Alright, maybe I had, but dealing with John was easier.”

“Nikola came for me?” Helen’s voice was impossibly soft at that.

“He did. I almost felt sorry for him, you know.” James smiled. “He had his best suit on, came with a rose and all…”

“Bastard.” Helen sighed, a wistful smile playing at her lips. “He had that blue cravat on, didn’t he?”

“I was barely able to get him to leave.” James pointed out. “Luckily, my Helen didn’t have any marks on her shoulder. What’s up with those, by the way?”

“None of your concern.” Helen grinned. “You’re lucky he only wanted to see my shoulder, though.  I have marks in other places too.”

“I don’t want to know.” James said on a dismissive tone. “Have you thought about a name for the baby?”

“I always thought Irene was a nice name. Yes, even before Arthur.”

“Well it suits her, I guess. She’s not even born yet and she’s already being a pain for me.”

“Just don’t tell anyone about her, alright? Especially not me. There will come a time when I will be in dire need of vampire blood and it will be best if I don’t get it. At least not from her, that is.”

“You said I’m going to die before you and Tesla get together, though.” James pointed out. “I have to tell someone about her existence, at least. To make sure she’s kept safe until you rejoin the timeline.”

“Tell Declan.” Helen said, after a few moments of considering the idea. “But don’t tell him who the father is. He’s not going to like it.”

“This Declan…”

“He’ll be your successor. That’s all you need to know about him. He and Nikola… well, they won’t exactly get along, though, so it’s best he doesn’t know the whole truth.”

“Why does this not surprise me?” James asked with a sigh. “Is there anybody who likes Tesla in the future, except you?”

“Not really, no. But I will work on that. They just need to see him like I do, that’s all.”

“You mean naked?” He earned himself a glare from Helen at that. “If you think I am only attracted to him because of the way he looks, James…”

“I think you have weird tastes, that’s all. You’ve slept with Jack the Ripper-“

“So have you.” Helen interrupted him.

“Then you got into a relationship with Jack the Ripper’s ex on the sole reason that he was your best friend, and while it is nice, I doubt it’s going to work on long term-“ James continued to rant, ignoring her, but she interrupted him again.

“It’s not. But it will be nice as long as it will last. Also, about hooking up with John’s ex, as you put it… so have you.”

“I’m really not the one to talk, am I?” James sighed. “I can still scold you for bedding a vampire, though, because I am pretty sure that is one thing I’ll never do.”

“I should hope not, I saw him first.” Helen smiled. “He’s not your type anyway.”

“I would have said the same thing about you.”

“Ah well, a girl is allowed to change her taste in men from time to time, is she not?”

“It still doesn’t change the fact that I barely got rid of him. Also, Helen thinks he’s either being mind controlled or that there is someone out there posing as her. I barely talked her out of running some tests on him, for the record.”

“You haven’t.” Helen smiled as she lay down on the bed. “Don’t worry about it, though. I took care of it.”

“What do you mean, I haven’t?” James glared at her. “She’s running tests on him as we speak, isn’t she?” He sighed.

“Come on, James, my stubbornness was one of the things you found most attractive in me. As I said, don’t worry. A simple blood test will reveal traces of infestation with a little parasite that is known to induce hallucinations on its host. Actually, a more accurate description of it would be that it causes you to picture the thing you want the most.”

“So that whole month Tesla was talking about…”

“Oh no, that was real.” James couldn’t recall any time she’d watched him with that amount of lust in her eyes. All for the better, he supposed. He had had moments when he wanted to be consumed with passion, but not with Helen. They liked each other because they were simple, uncomplicated. He wondered idly what had happened to her to make her stop wanting that, but he knew she wasn’t going to answer that question.

“I injected him in our last day together.” Helen explained. “It’s not going to harm him, of course, but I needed a failsafe just in case he wasn’t going to listen to me and not come after me.”

“There’s still going to be the problem of how he got infected with the parasite, though.”

“That part is true. But you don’t get to be the world’s greatest detective without knowing how to recognize planted evidence, James, and if you know that… you also know how to plant it should the need arise.”

“You’re asking me to lie.” James’ tone was ice cold now.

“I’m asking you to keep him away from me, actually. We wouldn’t want me to fall in love with him before I’m supposed to, would we?”

“You should have thought about that before sleeping with him.”

“I only wanted to say hi to him. I missed him, alright?”

“You only wanted to say hi?!” James snapped. “In his hotel room, in the middle of the night.”

“Not my most brilliant idea, I know. But I took care of it, as I said. Just let Helen check him and everything will work out in the end. Now, can we proceed?”

“How the hell can you know that?” James sighed as he placed the mask on her face, counting the seconds until she fell asleep. He could have sworn he heard her say _Because it worked the first time_ , though. But then again, she may have been hallucinating because of the anesthetic.


	4. Chapter 4

It was strange seeing her like this, after Vienna. He had initially thought it would have been best to stay away, at least until he managed to get a logical explanation for this – Helen playing him was the easiest one, but the lack of marks on her had proven it wasn’t true. He was grateful for that, because he could deal with Helen being a lot of things, but her intentionally hurting him… No, it didn’t sound like her. Come to think at it, her coming in the middle of the night at his door and ending up fucking him senseless also didn’t sound like her, but that was exactly why he was back in Helen’s home and why he had eventually agreed to let her run whatever tests she wanted on him. It also had a lot with the fact that he missed her and any opportunity to be alone with her was welcomed, if he were to be honest.

“You still haven’t told me what you think we did in Vienna.” Helen said as she approached him. She stared deep into his eyes –seemingly unaffected by the lack of space between them, Nikola noted with a certain degree of disappointment.

“Well, if you don’t remember it, then what is the point?” Nikola asked.

“Your pupils are normal in size.” she noted. “You don’t seem to be under the effect of any hallucinogens, at least not anymore. Perhaps your body has eliminated them by now.”

“You seem to be convinced the problem is with me.”

“Meaning?”

“Maybe everything did happen and somebody erased your memory. For the record, if that is the case, I want to get whatever device they used.”

“Why?” Helen’s tone had taken a colder edge now.

“Because if it actually made you forget”, he said, taking her hand into his, “then it would have to be one hell of an advanced technology.” He didn’t miss the way she shivered as his fingers ran up her arm, his touch light as a feather. This was interesting, he mused, but she pulled her hand away.

“Nikola, stay still.” She warned as she took a syringe in her hand. “I’m going to run some tests on your blood, see if I can trace signs of any hallucinogens in it.”

“You think somebody drugged me? That is your theory?” Nikola asked, raising an eyebrow. “That would have meant I let someone close enough to me in order to do that, and I really didn’t. Well, except you.”

“I’m still working on that part.” Helen admitted. “You did mention something about marks on my shoulder, though. If anyone tampered with my memory, they would have had to erase those too, correct?”

“I think so. I mean, you’re the doctor here, but I don’t think bite marks heal that fast.”

“Bite marks? As in-“

“Yes, exactly _that_ kind of bite marks. I don’t remember you complaining, though.”

Well, at least that proved he had a hallucination or something of the sort, she thought. There was no way in hell she would have let him bite her. One, it was potentially dangerous, and two, it had a pretty good chance of becoming sexual, and while she wouldn’t have exactly qualified that as cheating James, it was still too close to the idea for her liking. Not that there was any chance she would have liked it, of course. Even if she had to admit that the danger was a bit enticing, as was the idea of someone’s lips roaming on her neck. Not necessarily Nikola’s, of course. She shook the thought away, placing a drop of Nikola’s blood under her microscope.

“Come see this.” she said, worry creeping in her voice. “You see the shape of those cells? I’ve seen something like this before, around ten years ago.”

“What the hell is that?” Nikola asked. “It looks like some sort of parasite.”

“There was a tribe in the Amazonian jungle.” Helen told him. “They had the same type of cells in their blood. I did some research and it turned out there was a parasite that… well.” she hesitated at that, unwilling to consider the implications of this. “You saw yourself biting me, didn’t you?” she asked, her voice small.

“Among other things.” Nikola grinned, but his smile faded as he saw the look on her face. “What’s wrong?”

“The parasite makes you see whatever you want the most, Nikola. It causes hallucinations, pretty vivid ones, actually. I was able to trace it to a fountain in that jungle, but convincing the people there not to drink from it anymore… that was a whole other story. They ended up liking whatever reality the parasite concocted for them more than real life.”

“I can’t blame them for that.” Nikola sighed. “So it was all just a dream. I still find that to believe.”

“I’m not sure that dream is the best description for this. But the fact remains that it wasn’t real.”

“And you’re confident of that.” It wasn’t a question.

“Well, you have to admit that it sounded a bit far-fetched from the beginning. Really, Nikola, letting you bite me?”

“Something like that, yes.” he said. He was sure as hell not going into any detail now. If this had really been a dream, it was probably not the best idea to admit that he had imagined her naked in his bed, panting hard, her body trying to recover from the orgasm he had given her. It was then when she had practically begged him to bite her, and there had been really nothing he could have done but comply. Her neck came first, the taste of her blood filling his mouth as she came undone once more from that bite alone. The shoulder bite was really a way to mark her as his, something she weirdly didn’t complain about.

“It still doesn’t make sense, though.” Nikola protested. “If I had dreamed about the thing I wanted the most… well, this wouldn’t have been it. Well, not entirely.” he added when he saw her raising an eyebrow at that. “I am a lot more complex than that, Helen, really.” He was going to leave out the fact that, in this context, _complex_ involved dancing with her at night, a field of light bulbs at her feet, all shining bright despite the fact that they had no wires attached to them. Yes, definitely a story for another day.

“If you want to hear the good news, it seems the parasite has mostly left your system. Your body created antibodies against it, so it should probably be gone for good in a few days.”

“So I only need to find out how I got infected.” Nikola said. “If somebody did this to me, I’m not sure if I want to kill them or thank them, to be honest.”

“How about neither? Just send them my way.”

“I might, to be honest. I’m curious what would it make you see.”

“That is private information, Nikola. But I like to think I’d imagine more plausible things.”

“I guess you coming to my hotel room in the middle of the night doesn’t sound like you.” Nikola sighed. “But then again, neither did taking me out to dinner and kissing me, and you did that. Sure, you claimed that you came to ask me about nitroglycerine or something like that, but you still kissed me.”

“I did no such thing.” Helen protested. “Probably another one of your parasite induced dreams.”

“No, actually, I was kidding this time.” Nikola reassured her. “You know me, vampire and all. I prefer bites.”

“Keep dreaming, Nikola.” Helen joked as she led him out of her house. It was best she kept him away, really. She still had to figure out who did this to him, of course, but the rest… She definitely did not want to think about why he’d dream about biting her. The simplest way to look at it was that he was a vampire and he was possibly attracted to her, so biting kind of came with that. The other possibility, that he had feelings for her that went beyond wanting to bite her or sleep with her… No, that was too farfetched.

At the same time, Nikola had problems of his own. He laid down the details once again in his head. Exhibit A, there was a Helen who was very touchy feely with him, to the point of actually sleeping with him. Problem was, she only visited him every 30 years or so. Exhibit B, this Helen had seemed pretty truthful when she said she had had nothing to do with that. Exhibit C, her body reacted to him pretty much the same- well, the information on this wasn’t too conclusive give the fact that he hadn’t been able to test this theory too much. Maybe he was a vampire, but being shot still hurt and he wasn’t willing to risk it. Exhibit D, his blood had been tampered with, at least this time. He wasn’t too sure about Miraflores though. So this all could have meant that someone was visiting him from time to time and messing with his head. Sadly, it also meant that the more… permanent Helen wasn’t the touchy feely one. At least, not yet. _Yet_. He considered the idea that had just hit him. No, that was not possible. Or was it?


	5. Chapter 5

“You’re a hard man to find, Jimmy boy.” Nikola grinned as he sat down next to James, who clearly didn’t appreciate the company. He had gone out for a drink alone – Helen had been enough trouble to handle for a month, if he were to be honest, so he had figured a glass of scotch would ease his mind. Apparently Tesla had other plans, however. Great, just great.

“Has it ever occurred to you that I didn’t want to be found, especially by you?” James sighed.

“I want to hire you.” Nikola didn’t seem to have heard what he said.

“Excuse me?”

“Well, if good old Arthur wasn’t full of it, which he probably was, given the nights he spent with you and Johnny, but I will let that slide for now… You are good at finding people, right?”

“I am more than good, Tesla, and you know it. Let me guess. You want me to find whoever injected you with that parasite. Helen told me everything.” He added when he saw Nikola’s look.

“And this is where I start doubting your deduction abilities. Actually, I want you to help me find Helen. Which is probably the same thing.”

“Helen is at home at the moment. Really, Tesla, I thought you’d give me something more challenging.”

“Not _your_ Helen, James, _my_ Helen.” Nikola clarified. “She looks like your Helen, just that she’s a brunette and she is way more attracted to me than your Helen is, apparently. She also visits me every 30 years or so.”

“I suppose she’s also riding an electric pigeon, then?” James laughed. “Seriously, Tesla, I deal with serious business, chasing some weird dream you had… not my field of expertise, I’m sorry.”

“So you’re buying the whole parasite thing, then?”

“Helen found traces of it in your bloodstream, Tesla, what more do you want?” James sighed exasperatedly.

“Well, let’s see. A memory of me being injected with it, hell, of anyone I came in contact with other than Helen in the last month, a reason why anyone would do this to me in the first place…” Nikola seemed to ponder the question, enumerating these on his fingers. “Oh, and last but not least, an explanation for what happened in Miraflores 30 years ago.”

“Let me guess, another of your wet dreams?”

“At least mine don’t involve serial killers.” Nikola spat back. “But, since you asked, Helen came to me to ask about nitroglycerine and well. She asked me out for dinner and we kissed at the end. And of course, when I met her a few months later she didn’t seem to remember any of it.” Nikola said and it took all of James’ self control to keep a straight face at that. Great, just great. Of course Helen had forgotten to mention that little fact to him. Why was he the one who had to clear this mess, again?

“Alright, let’s assume for a second that this Helen is not a delusion.” James said, trying to maintain an even tone. “Has anybody else besides you seen her?”

“Don’t try to psychoanalyze me, Jimmy.” Nikola warned him. “As a matter of fact, someone else had seen her too.”

“Do tell.”

“Druitt did. I got him really drunk one night and he told me that he fought off someone who looked like Helen in an alleyway once. And she was a brunette and all, though I have a feeling that what he actually meant was that he got his butt handed to him, knowing her. The girl can throw a punch when she wants to, and something tells me she wasn’t as sympathetic to him as she usually is to me.”

“So your only evidence as to not being mad is the drunken talk of a serial killer.” James smiled. “I see. Well, then, I think that pretty much settles it. Find someone else for the job, Tesla, I have more important stuff to take care of.”

“So I’m guessing you don’t want to hear my theory she is actually a Helen from the future, from a time she has somehow come to her senses and realized she cannot live without me.”

“From the future? Don’t be ridiculous!” James laughed out loud. “Assuming that is even possible in the first place, why in God’s name would Helen ever come to that conclusion? Not to mention, that while I perfectly get why you want this to be true… Nikola, there are a lot of more plausible explanations for that. On the extremely low chance that she is even real, she could be a shape shifter, or someone who is mind controlling you, impersonating her to make you trust them.”

“You know, James, somehow I thought you’d say that.” Nikola smirked. “It makes sense, actually. You were always her best friend.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Well then, let me spell it out for you, Shirley.” Nikola said, enjoying the way James glared at him at that. “One, it’s just as you said, she could be a shape shifter. She is not, for that matter, because she also has Helen’s memories and some other memories your Helen doesn’t have. This means that, if she is not actually Helen, she is someone, or something, who had copied not only her appearance, but also her memories. The memories of your actual girlfriend, mind you, so you’d think you’d be a bit more worried about this perspective.”

“Well I still don’t know if you’re not just pulling my leg about it.” James protested.

“Scotland Yard hasn’t taught you not to ignore any possible threats, no matter how improbable? Such a shame.  I thought they were better than that.” Nikola mocked him. “Not to mention that you are ignoring one hell of a case too. Which can mean only one thing.”

“And what do you think that is?” James challenged him.

“There is no threat and there is no case, of course.” Nikola smiled triumphantly. “So what I’m saying is basically… When and if you see her again, tell her I love her and that I’ll wait centuries for her if this is what she wants.”

“That’s just –“

“Spare me.” Nikola cut him off, placing money on the table as he left. “Drinks are on me this time, Jimmy. You’ve been a lot of help tonight.” He said, leaving James alone. The detective stared for a while into his glass, before emptying it in one gulp. Well, that could have gone worse, he supposed. He was still going to kill Helen the next time he saw her, though.


	6. Chapter 6

"You know, if you keep doing this the London Sanctuary will need a new section." James joked. He had placed Irene next to Ashley, just like their mother had asked him.

"Very funny." Helen muttered.

"I really wish I could see her grow, you know. Well, them, actually." he amended when he saw Helen glaring at him. "If Ashley is anything like her father, having a step sister fathered by Tesla... I'd kill to see her face when you tell her the truth. What? Helen, what's wrong?" he asked when she saw the look on her face, but she gave no answer to that. After all, how could she? How was she supposed to tell him that Ashley was never going to meet her sister, precisely because she had been too much like John?

"They're not going to know each other, are they?" James asked, realization dawning on him. "Is this why you did this? You wanted to replace Ashley somehow and you figured that you should change the father this time, to fix whatever went wrong the first -" he didn't get the chance to finish the sentence, because Helen slapped him over his face at that.

"For the last time, James, I love him!" she exclaimed, frustration obvious in her voice. "And no, nobody will ever replace Ashley, she was the only good thing I got from John -not that you'd have any idea what that was like, by the way - but Nikola... I was reckless, I will admit to that, but I almost lost him once. Before going back. And then I had to spend almost 30 years without contacting him, and when I finally saw him..."

"Not exactly 30 years. There was also Miraflores, which you failed to mention, by the way."

"He told you about that?" Helen asked, a wistful smile playing on her lips.

"He did, as a matter of fact. Right before he came up with a crazy theory that there are two of you around, one of whom is very friendly with him, as he put it."

"Oh. Well, I'm sure you told him that is just a crazy theory, right? Right, James?" Helen asked, but he gave no answer to that. "Well?" she asked impatiently.

"Actually..."

"Oh my God, he played you, didn't he?"

"I... wouldn't call it like that." At least he had found the decency to be a bit flustered about the whole situation, Helen thought.

"Bloody bastard. How much did he figure out, exactly?"

"Only the time travelling part, thankfully. You know, I thought you'd be more worried about this."

"Oh, James. I thought you knew I find intelligence to be a very endearing trait. I would have been a bit disappointed if he hadn't figured it out, to be honest."

"Well I'm glad you're having fun. You're lucky he doesn't want to find you."

"He doesn't?" Dear Lord, she was actually disappointed about this, James noticed.

"No, apparently at least one of you is concerned about not messing with the timeline. I would have expected it to be you, however."

"Well maybe you don't know me that well, then."

"Well 50 years is a long time, I suppose. Even for you."

"Not fif- Oh, you think you're smart, don't you? I told you, I can't tell you the exact year I went back."

"It was worth a shot." James shrugged.

"Of course. I won't be seeing you again anytime soon, I'm afraid."

"Well you could come visit your girls, at least. You know the access codes; you don't need me to be around for this."

"Not a good idea. If any of their fathers figure out I'm around... I messed up your life enough as it is."

"You have a point. Well, I suppose it is goodbye, then."

"This time for good, yes."

"Unless you decide to say hello to another one of your old friends, that is."

"Oh, shut up." Helen laughed. "Can't a time travelling woman have a bit of fun these days?"

"Tesla says it was a month of fun, actually."

"Well, Vienna is a beautiful city."

"You mean you left his room long enough to actually visit the city?"

"Goodbye, James." Helen smiled, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Take care of my girls for me, alright?"

"For as long as I live. They're going to be alright, Helen."

"I'd like to stay a bit more with them, if that is ok."

"Of course." James said with a reassuring smile.

"Hi, Ashley." she whispered as soon as she was left alone, her fingers running over the glass panel. "The one sitting next to you is your little sister." she continued, her voice shaking a bit. "You're not going to meet her, sadly, but if she'll be anything like her father... She'll probably be a royal pain in the ass, and I will love her even more because of that. You don't get to meet her father either, actually - if you don't count throwing him across a parking lot as meeting him, that is. But he does love me, and I love him. And yes, he gets on my nerves a lot of times, and we may not agree on all things, professionally speaking, but the way he keeps challenging me, and that look of pure awe he gets whenever he's around one of his inventions... He looked at me like that after I first kissed him, you know. Like I was the only thing in the world that mattered to him at the moment, and he was so deliciously vulnerable that I couldn't stop myself from kissing him again, and well. James did have a point; I didn't see much of Vienna, to be honest. As for you... I will never forgive myself for what I did to you. I should have told you about your father sooner, about what you had in your blood and most of all, I shouldn't have put you in harm's way so easily. But you were so much like me that I figured you would have never forgiven me if I kept you away from my -well, our work, actually. I guess you never had a chance to a normal life... and neither does your sister, I'm afraid. And you know what? That terrifies me. But not having her terrifies me even more, so I'm going to keep her frozen until the time is right, and then I'm going to carry her to term and pray that I won't fail her like I failed you. I can only hope that will be enough." With these words, she left, closing the door behind her.

"Goodbye, my girls." she whispered, her hand resting on the door just a bit longer. "Mommy loves you both."


	7. Chapter 7

_London, 2011_

"You wanted to see me, Declan?" Helen asked.

"I heard about what happened in South Africa." the young man replied, pacing around his office.

"If you called me here to lecture me about revamping Nikola... William already covered that for you."

"No no, it's nothing of the sort." Declan smiled. "It's about something that Dr. Watson wanted you to have. He didn't tell me when I was supposed to deliver it to you, of course, but he did give me some guidelines, and I believe this is the right moment to do it."

"He gave you this before he died?" Helen asked as Declan handed her a small container.

"It needs to be kept frozen." Declan explained. "I will arrange transport to the Sanctuary as soon as possible for you two."

"I see. It's a pity we don't know where John is; he could have helped me with this."

"No." Declan said, perhaps a bit too quick. "Nobody has to know about this, especially Mr. Druitt. Dr. Watson was pretty clear about that."

"Alright, what exactly did James tell you about this?"

"Let me see. It's a frozen embryo that has been kept in stasis since around 1930, I believe."

"What?" Helen asked.  "That's not possible, James always kept me posted about the kind of Abnormals that we keep in storage, and I don't remember him telling me anything about this."

"He made exceptions from time to time. This was one of them. I told you, I'm not even sure I'm supposed to tell you about it now."

"What kind of Abnormal is it?"

"That's the bad news. Well, one of them, at least. I have no idea, and neither did Dr. Watson. We could be looking at the first sample of a whole new species, for what I know."

"Alright, well have it transported to the main Sanctuary, I'll run a DNA test on it as soon as I can."

"That's bad news number two, actually. You are not allowed to do that. Dr. Watson insisted that for now all you have to do with her is to keep it safe. No running tests on her, no trying to figure out what she is."

"At least we know it's a female, then. But why the secrecy? It makes no sense, and James wouldn't have taken anything inside the Sanctuary if he didn't know exactly what it was."

"Someone put a good word for her. Dr. Watson knew her parents, and he promised he would take care of her."

"Did he tell you anything about her parents? Maybe if we knew what abilities they possessed, we would know more about their daughter."

"I know who her parents are, yes." Declan admitted. "Frankly, I still don't see how that happened, given certain... Never mind. Dr. Watson made me promise I won't tell you anything about her parents, and I intend to keep that promise."

"So he expected me to take a potentially dangerous Abnormal in my Sanctuary without knowing anything about it, and I'm not even allowed to ask questions about it?"

"You know, he warned me that will be your reaction." Declan said with a smile. "He told me to tell you that at least now you know what this feels like. As for her parents... I believe his exact words were _If she must ask about it, she doesn't need to know, and if she must know about it, she doesn't need to ask.”_

"He's lucky he's dead, because right now killing him sounds very tempting." Helen muttered. "I'm sorry, Declan, but as head of the Sanctuary Network, I must insist you tell me everything you know about this."

"Even if it means endangering her existence?"

"Are you implying that I will want to kill her once I know what she is? Honestly, Declan, if either you or James thinks this about me, then you don't know me at all."

"No, no, no, nothing of the sort. She's not dangerous, at least not yet, so you'd have no reason to do that, not to mention that if I told you the truth... Killing her would be the last thing on your mind."

"She's important to me, then."

"From a scientific point of view, yes. I told you, she could be the first of her species, and even if she's not, she could be part of a species that is almost extinct now."

"Why not tell me the truth, then?"

"It's hard to explain. You see, I may not know much about the circumstances of her conception, but one thing Dr. Watson insisted on was that she was a baby made out of love, not out of duty. I'm sorry, but there is a very high chance that you knowing the truth about her would... damage the memory of that, so to say."

"Then why tell me about her in the first place?"

"That was my decision, actually. Dr. Watson insisted that I only hand her to you and ask you to not make any tests on her, but I figured that you might do it anyway if you didn't know anything about her. To be completely honest, I wanted to run few tests on her myself, but then Dr. Watson told me who her parents were and I figured I have no right to do that."

"Dear God, it's like he left you a whole textbook of instructions concerning her."

"Two textbooks, actually. If everything goes well, you will come to me soon enough asking for the rest."

"And I suppose if I ask for the rest now..."

"That's classified information."

"I'm the head of the Sanctuary Network, Declan. That does tend to mean that nothing is classified to me."

"Except for certain special circumstances, yes. This is one of them, I'm afraid."

"James trained you well." Helen sighed.  "You're almost as infuriating as he was."

"I'll arrange everything for you and Irene to be transported back to Old City." Declan said, a smile playing on his lips.

"Is this what James called her?"

"Oh, you know what he was like. He told me naming them was more like your thing, he..."

"He went with code names, most of the time, yes. So, what does Irene stand for?"

"I wouldn't know. He said her mother named her that. He did use to joke sometimes, saying that it stood for infuriating result... You know what? We'll have this talk another day. For now, Irene will have to do."

"Irene. I like it." Helen smiled. "Oh well, at least now we're getting somewhere. Her mother naming her means that at least she displayed human like levels if emotional intelligence."

"I didn't say her mother was human." Declan said on a defensive tone.

"You didn't say she wasn't, either." Helen pointed out. "Ok, what about her father? What about any relatives she may have? If she's still viable, we could implant her in someone, have them carry her to term, but she would have to be compatible with them... I would assume her parents are both dead, given the time of her conception, but does she have any other living relatives?"

"Very distant ones and it doesn't matter anyway. Nobody knew about her, apart from her mother."

"Not even her father?"

"No, and it was probably for the better. He died 15 years after she was conceived, or something like that."

"So I'm guessing he died of illness. Any hereditary disease I should worry about?"

"Not exactly a disease, but there is a lot you should worry about if you ask me."

"But you can't tell me what it is."

"No. Actually, I have to go now, I'm afraid. I'll arrange everything for your trip back."

"You know I won't be able to leave it here, don't you?"

"I'm begging you to. Think of it as an order from two major heads of the Sanctuaries around the world, if it makes you feel better."

"You've been in charge of the London Sanctuary for only one year, Declan. I wouldn't exactly call you -"

"I didn't mean myself, Dr. Magnus." Declan smiled. "This will make sense one day, I promise. Until then... safe travels and I don't mean only back to Old City."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I heard Vienna is wonderful in springtime. Maybe you should go there when you get the chance."

"I hardly have the time for a holiday, Declan."

"Just saying." Declan shrugged and left, leaving Helen alone with the container. There was something weird about Irene, something she couldn't figure out quite yet. James used to tell her everything, and if he ever was to make an exception to that, Helen would have bet it would have been for only a handful of people. And Declan mentioning Vienna... It reminded her of a night in London, ages ago, when Nikola had come to her, blabbering about a meeting they supposedly had... For a second, the craziest of thoughts crossed her mind. But it was preposterous, she thought. There was no way in hell she would have done that. Actually, as of late, the more correct statement was that she would have never forgotten that if she did it, if she were to be honest with herself.

 


	8. Chapter 8

The last months had been nothing if not hectic for Helen, with the destruction of the Old Sanctuary, moving all the Abnormals to the new one, not to mention the fact that Nikola had basically moved in with her. It hadn't been something the rest of her staff fully agreed with, not entirely, but she was definitely not the one to complain. Especially not in days like these, when he waited for her after a long mission, bath and massage oils at the ready, and she had no choice but to surrender to his skilled fingers.

"Careful, Nikola, I could get used to this." she warned him later, when they were both in their bed, her head resting on his chest.

"You know, one might think you're getting domestic with me, Helen." Nikola smirked. "I mean, I knew I was brilliant, but this could damage your reputation."

"You already damaged it years ago, Nikola." Helen smiled.

"I did a lot of things to you during the years we've known each other, Helen. I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific."

"Do you know what we did in Vienna?"

"I knew it!" Nikola grinned.  "Memory altering parasite, my ass. You know, you're lucky I love you so much, because otherwise I would be a bit pissed. I spent years wondering if I had gone mad or if that was all real."

"You don't know half of it, actually." Helen sighed. "I have to tell you something, Nikola, and you're probably not going to like it, but I had to do it like this. The alternative just seemed too cold."

"You mean the part where I thought you were playing both me and Watson? Don't worry about it, I knew it wasn't the same you. 1927 you didn't have the marks I left you, remember?" he asked as he kissed her shoulder, nibbling just a bit on her skin. "Maybe you need new ones, you know, for old times' sake. You seemed to like it the first time."

"You left other kind of marks too, actually."

"What? I don't know what you mean."

"You're so going to hate me for this." Helen smiled sadly. "Get dressed; I have to make a video call with Declan."

"Now you want to make a video call? Helen, do you have any idea what time it is in London?" Nikola sighed as he buttoned his shirt.

"Yes. But it can't wait. Also, you'll want to hear this."

"Is everything alright, Dr. Magnus?" Declan asked when he picked up. "Oh. This is about Irene, isn't it?" He seemed a lot less worried now, Nikola noted, and for a second he thought it was because he had seen them together in bed. But that made no sense.

"Yes. I assume James instructed you on the reimplanting procedure?"

"He did, yes." Declan sighed. "Doesn't mean I'm not nervous, though."

"Well it's the least you can do, you know, after lying to me."

"It wasn't exactly a lie." Declan said defensively.

"Her father died in the 1940s? She has no living close relatives?"

"The part with her father dying is on Wikipedia, alright? As for the rest... Well. I told you the part with her being made out of love, didn't I?"

"You did, yes. I'm not mad at you, Declan. You handled the situation admirably, if I may say so. I will assume I have the clearance to authorize the reimplanting procedure, then?"

"Actually, no. Blame Dr. Watson for this, but he said that, if it was somebody else involved, you would have said you need the father's approval for this."

"Seems fair enough." Helen smiled. "I don't think it will be a problem, though. Have everything prepared, please. And Declan... Thank you for taking care of her."

"Don't mention it."

"OK, what was that about?" Nikola asked when she hung up. "Who is this Irene girl?"

"You know how you always say that you're the last survivor of the vampire race?"

"Yeeeeees?" Nikola asked, a grin starting to form on his lips.

"That probably stopped being true after Vienna." Helen smiled. "If she takes after her father, that is."

“Are you telling me I have a daughter?” Nikola asked on a small voice. It sounded like he didn’t dare to believe it, like if he had there was this chance she’d have said it had been just a joke and it would have stopped being true.

“I’m telling you _we_ have a daughter.” Helen corrected him, taking his hand into her own. “I mean, she’s just an embryo now and I have kept her in ice for the last 80 years or so, but I do intend to carry her to term. I mean, if you want that too, of course.” she added, her voice trembling a bit. She had always assumed he would be too happy about it to be mad about the whole hiding this from him for so long part and it seemed to her she was wrong at the moment.

“I have a daughter.” It seemed his shock was wearing off now, and was being replaced by something she couldn’t quite place. Was it curiosity? It seemed to have a touch of sadness to it too, though.

“I’m sorry, Nikola, but I couldn’t have told you about it then, and quite frankly I didn’t want to raise her without at least giving you a chance to know her, so I had to do it like this. I mean normally I would have had to get your approval on the procedure and all, but-“That caused him to burst into laughter.

“Helen, we were always anything _but_ normal.” he pointed out, his lips curled into a sly grin. “I’m guessing the Irene part was because of Doyle and her giving nightmares to James even before she had been born, wasn’t it? Irene Tesla. I love it.” Nikola decided, his smile now warmer than ever.

“I love you so much sometimes.” Helen sighed as she interlaced her fingers with his.

“Only sometimes?” he challenged her.

“You do have your moments, I will give you that.” she admitted as she snuggled closer to him.

“Just wait till we get to go on our honeymoon. I have some experiment ideas that will leave you breathless. And hopefully, panting hard and sore and- What?” he asked when he saw her look. “Of course we’re doing experiments on our honeymoon; it’s us we’re talking about here.” he grinned.

“Honeymoon tends to mean two people got married, Nikola.” Helen pointed out.

“Well of course. I mean, it’s not like I have a choice. An unmarried woman, carrying a child? Imagine the scandal.” she wanted to protest at that, but changed her mind when she saw the little glint in his eyes.

“Right. This is the only reason you’re asking me.” she challenged him.

“Well being madly in love with you does help matters if I am to be honest. As does being stuck with the most gorgeous, brilliant, albeit infuriating woman for all eternity and with a girl that will probably get to be amazing, I mean with her genes? There’s no way she won’t be.”

 


End file.
